SE Asian artists share their experiences

By Ati Nurbaiti

MANILA (JP): Artists are often loathe to discuss the thought processes behind their works. So when 35 artists from Southeast Asia gathered recently and shared their thoughts in Manila, insight was gained into the shared experiences and concerns in this region.

Their few words -- more were provided in the event catalog -- enable the uninitiated to better appreciate their creations which range from disturbing, serene, humorous or a mixture of all these elements.

Artists from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand and Vietnam met on Sept. 10-11 for the announcement of winners of the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards 1997, held this year for the fourth time.

The day after the announcement they joined an "artist interaction" activity by daubing paint on panels to the accompaniment of Filipino music and dance.

Indonesian Yuswantoro Adi took the grand prize for his Masterpieces of Indonesia. Four other winners were Insects Diskette by Malaysia's Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Human Environment by Vietnam's Tran Van Thao, A Wedding Gift from my Mum by Singapore's Tan Juat Lee; and K-H by the Philippines' Daniel A. Coquilla.

All the works are currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila to Sept. 30.

Ahmad Shukri figured rows of diskettes adorned with butterflies and other insects. Behind his puzzling display was a hint of concern at the omnipresence of technology. "Everyone has computers now...maybe in the future the children will only know insects and (other parts of) nature from their screens," he said. "They will not know the feel of rubber, the smell and sound of insects."

Of his work in earthy colors, one of five beautiful abstracts from Vietnam, Tran said it reflected his impression of the rapidly changing face of Ho Chi Minh City. "There is a lot of property development going on," he said. "And it seems the environment is not as good as before."

Singapore's Tan described her red quilt-like work around childhood portraits as a "tribute to mother love".

In the catalog, an advisor of the Singapore Art Museum, Eng- Lee Seok Chee, notes the link connecting Asian communities through Tan's work: "The frugal practice of saving odd bits and remnants of cloth to use and recycle..(link) the mothers and grandmothers of the present generation, not only of Chinese- Singaporeans but of other Asians as well."

Philippine painter Coquilla said his painting of traffic was a scene he knew well. "I pass this road every day..the funeral service at the side of the road, the food sellers..." In a scene common to most overpopulated cities in the region, a juror dryly noted: "The only comfortable person in the painting must be the dead man in the coffin".

It was beyond the layman to understand the jury's selection of the winners as the other works looked equally arresting.

Hanura Hosea from Indonesia depicted a chicken coop with figures in contorted features, one "talking" to a chicken, others seated with joined hands around a table and one tied in what might be a standing coffin. "A factory," was the long-haired Hanura's terse description.

A figure offers a molded form titled "brain for rent", and the viewer is left to search out the rest of possible meanings -- "the mental state of industrialization," suggests art writer and chairman of the Indonesian jury team, Amir Sidharta.

Artists portray social concerns, but many said separately that this should not be taken for granted.

"In the times of (late Philippine president Ferdinand) Marcos, artists only pictured poverty, beggars and the like," said Nunelecio Alvarado from Negros, the Philippines. In the 1980s, at the start of the "People's Power" movement, they began to depict "defiance," he said.

His own grim work, he said, told of life in his village: floods caused by timber felling for the sugar industry, symbolized by the red chain saw; the poverty, pictured by a woman stabbed with a samurai ("for financial reasons, many of our women live with the Japanese"), flanked by evil reptile-like men.

Malaysian juror Redza Piyadasa, himself an artist, said the artist as social commentator and social critic was still unusual in Malaysia even though it may be accepted in Indonesia and other countries.

But the "pragmatic outlook" among Malaysia's younger generation of artists surpassed more sentimentalized and nationalistic leanings, he said.

Singaporean Lee Leong Seng, who runs an art school, said his colleagues had yet to be more responsive to their surroundings.

He said it was important to remind Singapore artists to look more to their own region for inspiration.

"Many young artists have the good opportunity to study abroad," he said. "When they return it seems their minds are still in the United States."

Another commonality to all the countries was the dearth of female finalists. The number of female participants is unknown, said jury chairwoman May Ching Kao.

Filipino painter Ivi Avellana-Cosio said: "My friends were ecstatic when they knew a (Filipino) woman finally reached the finals, but I do not want to make an issue out of it."

She said her parents raised their children to believe that anyone, regardless of sex, could achieve their goals if they set their mind to it.

Still, she cannot paint as much as she wants. Her husband is also a painter and works at home.

Family members and servants, she added, would not dare bother her husband when he was "working" about domestic duties.

"But I accept that," Avellana-Cosio said pragmatically. "If not, life would be miserable."